Early voting in the Johnson County special election has begun

Early in-person voting in the Dec. 18 special election to fill the vacancy on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors began on Wednesday. Voters can cast a ballot at the Johnson County Auditor’s Office — which is open Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. — until the office closes on Monday, Dec. 17.

Voters will be choosing between Democrat Royceann Porter and Republican Phil Hemingway to fill the remainder of Supervisor Kurt Friese’s term, which runs through the end of Dec. 2020. Friese died unexpectedly on Oct. 26.

In addition to being able to vote early at the auditor’s office, voters will also be able to cast ballots at two one-day satellite voting locations. On Friday, Dec. 14, people will be able to vote in the Pappajohn lobby of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The following day, there will be satellite voting at the Iowa City Public Library, also from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

On Election Day, there will be 17 combined precincts, according to the auditor’s site:

Three of the combined precincts will have voters traveling to a different but nearby polling place:

• Big Grove, Cedar, and Solon will vote at Solon City Hall. This is the regular polling place for the city of Solon. Big Grove usually votes at the Solon Library and Cedar normally votes at the Fire Station.

• Coralville 1 and 4 will both vote at the regular polling place for Coralville 1, the Coralville Public Library. Coralville 4 usually votes at City Hall.

• Iowa City 19 and 20 will both vote at the precinct 20 site, the Senior Center. Precinct 19 usually votes at the Iowa City Rec Center.

Five of these combinations involve places where two precincts already vote at the same location:

• Iowa City 5 and 11 at the UI Main Library

• Iowa City 6 and 16 at the Mercer Park Aquatic Center

• North Liberty 1 and 5 at the North Liberty Community Center

• Graham and Newport at Celebration Farm

• City of Hills and Liberty-Pleasant Valley at the Hills Community Center

Voters with questions about where to vote, or any other questions about the election, should call the auditor’s office, 319-356-6004.

This is the last week for those who want to vote by mail to request a ballot. Requests for a mailed absentee ballot must be received by the auditor’s office before 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7. Friday is also the deadline for voter pre-registration. Same-day voter registration will still be available on Election Day.